


but, hey, it’s home

by porcelaincarnival



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Adopted Peter Parker, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Avengers Family, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Bucky Barnes Is a Good Bro, Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, Domestic Avengers, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Precious Peter Parker, Protective Avengers, Protective Natasha Romanov, Team as Family, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Whump, humor ?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-07-28 11:45:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16240958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/porcelaincarnival/pseuds/porcelaincarnival
Summary: Every parent gets into arguments with their child, it’s normal.  What’s not normal is when their child can swing away in the blink of an eye.





	but, hey, it’s home

**Author's Note:**

> hi ! so this one is a bit more sad than i usually write, so i'm sorry if i cant whump correctly lol  
> it's supposed to be after infinity war but no one dies/everyone's friends again !!

It wasn’t his fault.  If Peter knew that his dad would be alerted when he left after curfew, then he wouldn’t have even considered the idea.

 

He just wanted to talk to Karen.

 

It was a rough day, for Peter and for Spider-Man.  After getting called out in class by his chemistry teacher for taking a nap in class, he knew his day would go downhill.

 

“Just because you get straight A’s, Mr. Parker, does not mean you are exempt from paying attention.  Therefore, sleeping.”

 

The class oohed as high schoolers do.  His face burned as his bleary eyes tried focusing on the board.  He was up late last night, patrol lasted an hour longer than he expected and his English Lit professor decided to spring a three page essay on him, due at midnight.  He sat up straighter, not missing the victorious grin Flash gave him. Peter wanted to look at Ned for support but his best friend was absent.

 

He missed decathlon practice again, and although he warned MJ about this beforehand, it didn’t stop her from snapping at him.

 

“Peter, I’m getting real tired of having to listen to your bullshit excuses.  I hope you know that I don’t believe you. If you weren’t so good at physics, honestly, I would have kicked you off by now.”

 

He knew why she was so on edge, a competition was coming up, and he was in no way helping their team.

 

He gave her only a grimace and weak apology in reply.  The truth is, he wasn’t going on patrol early. He just wanted to go home.  He knew that his dad wouldn’t be home until way later from meetings, so it made things harder.  At least he had the other Avengers, but they tended to drift in and out depending on their schedules, though usually at least two of them occupied the compound.

 

When he actually did go on patrol, he felt out of it.  Therefore, he had no one else to blame but himself when an armed robber got away due to his own ignorance.  He knew that the media wouldn’t take his slip-up well, damaging his reputation, and he just felt disappointed in himself.

 

“Alright Karen,” he sighed, “let’s head back home.”

 

After crashing for the night (he did his homework during lunch in the library, trying to avoid his friends), he awoke in a cold sweat from a nightmare.

 

_Musty.  Humid.  Dim._

 

_His homemade goggles tried adjusting to the darkness, but to no avail._

 

_He webbed himself closer to the only figure he saw, hunched over a work desk, large mechanical wings covering their back.  They turned quickly, metallic feathers as sharp as razors cut his hoodie, the quick cool feeling erupted into a harsh wave of nausea.  When they looked at him, it wasn’t Adrian Toomes. A towering being with a glittering fist gave him a twisted smile, flashing his hand.  His fingers looked like they were about to pinch the air, or snap._

 

_“I wanted you to be better.”_

 

_Peter realized that they were no longer in the lair, but on the ferry.  It split in half, swallowing him in the rift that formed in the matter of nanoseconds.  Instead of falling into the cold, disgusting water, he was being crushed by concrete._

 

_His lungs felt so constricted, he could only choke out words.  With the little breath he had, and the immense pain he was blinded by, he wheezed as loudly as he could, “Dad!  please! Help me!”_

 

_There was fire._

 

_There was dust._

 

_Then nothing._

 

Peter shot up, biting his knuckle in order to refrain from screaming.  FRIDAY’s voice filled the room, just above a whisper.

 

“You appear to be having a panic attack.  Would you like to alert the boss about the situation?”

 

“N-no.”  He took a breath. _In.  Out.  Focus on reality.  You’re okay.  In.  Out._

 

He forced himself out of bed, grabbing his mask from under his pillow.  There was no reason for him to hide his suit anymore, seeing as his entire family now knew his alter-ego.  Old habits die hard.

 

He waited until he he was on the roof, his face prickling with cool air, to put on the mask.

 

“Hello, Peter, why are you awake?  Is something wrong?” Karen’s concerned tone filtered into his ears. _In.  Out.  Breathe._ He sat on the edge of the roof.

 

“Y-yeah.  Just, overwhelmed.”

 

“Would you like to talk about it?”

 

“Yeah, that’d be great.”

 

Before he could start explaining himself, his dad stormed onto the roof.  He looked angry. Peter didn’t blame him. He must be incredibly tired by his _oh so important_ meetings and his _oh so important_ agenda.  He stopped right in front of the cross-legged teenager, arms crossed and foot tapping.

 

He could hear every single time his foot hit the fucking pavement.  

 

_In.  Out._

 

“Would you like to tell me why FRIDAY told me at four thirty am that you are breaking ground rules?”  He could hear the disappointed tone mix with the frustration without the enhanced hearing.

 

_Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap._

 

“Cat got your tongue?”  He sounded less upset and more concerned.

 

_In.  Out.  Focus on reality.  You’re okay._

 

 _Tap, tap, scratch._  The foot stopped its deafening tapping when he heard Peter sniffle.

 

He kneeled in front of him, “Pete?  Hey buddy, how about we take the mask off, huh?”

 

Peter shook his head.

 

“Come on, you’ll be able to breathe better.”  Tony coaxed. Peter pressed his lips together, he didn’t need to be cooed at.

 

In a swift but harsh motion he ripped off the mask.

 

“Woah there, you don’t need to pull out your hair just yet, that’s my job.”

 

Peter didn’t laugh.

 

_In.  Out.  Count to five.  One.  Two.  Three._

 

His dad sat next to him, keeping himself a fair distance away.  They sat in silence. Tony didn't want to push him if he didn't want to talk, sometimes company was enough.  

 

Peter didn't make any comments, which differed from his usual energetic attitude.  Tony must have noticed the twitching of his fingers as they rested on his lap.

 

After about ten minutes of watching the city sleep, Peter said, “I'm sorry”

 

Tony hid a wince at his words, “For what, kiddo?”

 

The trembling fingers clenched into a fist, “Waking you up, disobeying the rules, for being here, for making you worry, for-”

 

“Hey, hey.  Don't ever apologize for those things and whatever else you were going to list.  You aren't burdening me in any way and I understand that sometimes you just need to get out, so it's okay.”

 

Peter’s eyes never looked up, instead he opted to stare at somewhere below them.  It must be his heightened vision letting him watch something minuscule on the ground.  The tapping moved up from Tony’s foot to his fingers, enabling it to go four times as fast.

 

_Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap._

 

Peter felt his sadness and former fear of the dream twist into irritation in the blink of an eye.

 

Tony felt like he needed to reassure his son, there's a reason he's up here, and why would he only take the mask without the suit?

 

“I have nightmares almost every night.”  He told Peter. The teen tensed, but didn't move, “Some nights they’re quick, others feel like eternity.  And that's okay. People like us always have them because of what we go through. In fact, I haven’t told anyone this, but for an entire year, I only slept if Pepper was with me.  She didn’t know, so when she had to go on business trips, I would pass out from exhaustion. Don't feel ashamed.”

 

“I'm not ashamed.”  He muttered. _In.  Out._

 

“Then why are you sitting here moping?”

 

“Why are you assuming I’m ashamed?”  Peter snapped, his emotions getting a hold of him.

 

Tony frowned, “Hey, watch it.”  The tapping got faster.

 

Peter knew he should have stopped there.  He knew he should have fallen back into his constant apologies and told his dad that he was sorry.  He was sorry, it wasn’t like him to be so agitated. He knew that if he got some sleep he would have enjoyed the weekend with the team, doing who knows what. _In.  Out. In.  Out. Breathe, breathe, breathe._

 

He didn’t though, so he hissed, “No, I’m tired of being treated like a baby.”

 

Tony just looked amused, which spurred Peter’s anger even farther, “Peter, how am I treating you like a baby?”

 

“I, ugh!”  Peter stood up and started pacing, “I had a bad day today and you just ignored me.  School and patrol all went to shit and I just wanted to be out here by myself.”

 

This was all bullshit.

 

“Whoa, first off, I didn’t see you, you know I had meetings.  Second, what happened at school?”

 

“Got yelled at for falling asleep, _accidentally!_ ”  He emphasized the last word, “MJ got mad at me for missing decathlon practice when I knew I wouldn’t have been able to make it through.  Random small stuff.”

 

“Peter, you can’t sleep during school-”

 

“I know!”  the teen yelled, “you don’t have to lecture me all the fucking time!”

 

 _Tap, slap._  Tony’s hand hit the ground.

 

Peter faltered a bit.  Fuck. He just had a nightmare about his father and here he was screaming at him?   _In, out, in, out, in, out, in, out._

 

Tony’s eyes narrowed, “Okay, you know what?  If you want to be treated as your age, then you’re grounded.”

 

“What?”  Peter stopped pacing.

 

“You heard me.”  Tony, with difficulty, pushed himself up onto his feet, “grounded.  No Spider-Man, no electronics, no lab, no Avengers, you are to come home immediately and do your homework.  Christ, you’re only 16 and you want to give me a hard time? If I get any more wrinkles, I’ll spontaneously combust.”

 

Amidst his protesting as Tony started pushing him back inside, Peter said sarcastically, “Oh yeah, lot of good that does you on a Saturday, huh?”

 

Tony’s face hardened, “What’s up with the rude back talking?  Fine, you did this to yourself. One month. And to add on, no decathlon.”

 

“Wait,” Peter’s temper died down for a second, “but, it’s school!”

 

“You said MJ was upset that you missed, she’s going to have to suck it up since you won’t be there for four weeks.”

 

“Dad!  That’s so-”

 

“Not fair?  Figured. Hand over the mask.”

 

“No!”

 

At moments like this, Peter would rather be participating in a ‘who can piss off your superhero/genius dad the fastest’ competition because for once he’d win at something.  Tony’s eyes narrowed, “What did you say?”

 

“But, I have to patrol!”

 

“New York won’t suffer during your grounding.”

 

“How would you know?  You don’t do the things I do, I protect the city from the inside, unlike you.  You only care about yourself.”

 

Something in Tony’s face hardened, “Peter Benjamin Parker, you’re on thin ice.”

 

He felt like his insides had been boiling like a teapot, burning the back of his throat as he bit his tongue to keep from spilling over his frothy rage.  The steam seemed to screech out of his ears, making him red in the face. He wanted to scream.

 

So he did.

 

“All you do is ignore me and coop up in your lab pretending like you’re the only person in the world!  Just like what happened after I came back, you shut me out. Don’t you notice all of us trying to get you to spend time outside of there, like a family?  You don’t even pick me up from school because you send Happy to do it for you. Then you act like you can control my life when you’re barely even in it.”

 

Tony froze.  They had been walking back to Peter’s room, and from where they were standing, they could look at the entryway to the aforementioned laboratory.  The persistent bright lights seemed eerie in the dark hallway. Peter knew that he crossed the line. Something about what he said must have reminded his father about Howard, because Tony pursed his lips and traced the walls with his gaze.

 

“Peter, go to your room.”  His voice was surprisingly quiet.

 

The teenager knew that he should have just accepted his self-inflicted defeat, but all he could do was scoff and roll his eyes.  He was willing to keep arguing but instead, Tony proved Peter’s words right and stalked into the lab.

 

Peter just stood in the doorway of his own room, the fire from his lips flickering out.  He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up so he turned in the direction he felt it pointing to.

 

“Hey, kid.”  he saw Uncle Clint balancing as if he were no heavier than a feather on top of a shelf that held picture frames and Peter’s academic trophies.  He was dressed in a loose fitting band shirt and fluffy pajama bottoms. Peter wondered if he woke him up with the yelling or if wasn’t sleeping at all.  That extended to the nervous curiosity that asked if he woke any other of the Avengers.

 

“I’m not a kid.”  He grunted, refusing to look at the archer in the eyes.

 

“From that display, I politely disagree.”  Clint was frowning, which made Peter feel even worse.

 

Peter huffed, still feeling the need to be furious but quickly realizing that there was no need to be.  He just acted like a brat for nothing at the expense of hurting his father’s feelings when he already knew what would offend him the most.

 

“Pete, you know that Tony’s trying.  You’re smart enough to understand that.  And coming from another dad, we don’t ever want to hear from our own kid that they think we aren’t doing our best.  Hey, that paternal role’s hard buddy, you can’t fault anyone for that.”

 

Peter stubbornly crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame, “I know.”

 

Clint raised his eyebrows, “If you knew, then why did you continue to act like a toddler?”

 

“I don’t know, okay?”  He raised his voice, but quickly calmed himself down.   _In.  Out._

 

“You might want to apologize soon, maybe sleep on it.  Pete, you’re a good kid, everyone makes mistakes. It’s just up to you to take responsibility for your actions.”

 

Responsibility.  

 

Peter knew that Clint was right, but he didn’t want to do that immediately.  He cast a wary glance at the, he definitely knew it to be, locked lab door. After a nod to the archer and shameful thanks, he went to his room, resisting the urge to slam the door out of frustration, and immediately went to bed.  

 

He would deal with repercussions another time.

 

~

 

Sometimes Peter really hated his procrastination because it translated into real social life.  He promised himself that he would talk to his father the day after the argument, but he couldn’t find it in himself to apologize.

 

He felt as if he did, then things would be different.  Peter didn’t like different.

 

The thing about the situation, it didn’t feel like there was an elephant in the room, only unspoken tension.  And everyone could feel it.

 

While he walked to the kitchen for breakfast the morning after, his enhanced hearing allowed him to listen into a harsh conversation between his dad and Aunt Natasha.  All the other Avengers were either still asleep or in the living room eating their food, so only Peter could hear the verbal fight. He inched closer to the kitchen and tuned in.

 

“Get your head out of your ass, Tony.”   _Yikes_.

 

“What did I do?”  


“I heard the whole thing last night.  Yes, Peter’s in the wrong for talking back, but you’re being harsh.”

  
  
“I can’t just let him get away with being disrespectful without punishment and or repercussions.  We all bend over backwards for the kid and he always gets his way.”

 

“And who’s not disciplining him?”

 

There was silence.  “I just… don’t want to be like my own father.”

 

Natasha seemed to soften her permanently hardened demeanor, “There’s a difference between being strict and abusive.”

 

Tony seemed to physically cringe at the last word, “I just don’t want to succumb to that part of me.  I know I have a temper, and I don’t want Pete to end up like me. He deserves better.”

 

“Shut up, Tony.  You know the kid wouldn’t dare do anything to his own kids if he has them.  He made every person he’s encountered, even the most jaded superhuman, adore him just because of who he is.  You don’t have to worry about Howard.”

 

“I can’t stand to lose him again.  Not after-”

 

Peter felt as if the temperature dropped and his lungs constricted.  He didn’t want to be there. He made a beeline to his room, quickly intercepted by Uncle Steve and Uncle Bucky.

 

“Hey, son, want to watch a movie?  Apparently a classic of this generation is something called, ‘Shrek’.  I’m kind of curious.”

 

“I’m not, I just want to eat breakfast, Steve.”

 

“Nonsense, we can multitask.”

 

“Hi, I-I kinda have to go to my room for a second to grab something, excuse me.”

 

“You alright, Pete?”  Bucky placed his cool metal hand onto the teen’s shoulder who instinctively jerked away, surprising the two super soldiers.

 

Peter ran into his room, locking the door.  He gasped for air, but the memories came flooding into his brain like a broken dam.  

 

_He felt as if his senses exploded, he had to blink several times in order to see straight.  Space was already overwhelming but now it was like his body couldn’t function. Instead of dialed to eleven, it was a million._

 

No, stop thinking about it.

 

_“I don’t feel so good.”_

 

Stop!   _In_ _.  Out.  Focus on reality.  You’re okay.  In.  Out._

 

He ripped through his closet and pulled out his original homemade suit.  Tony took away his new one, but forgot about the fabled onesie. It was littered in tears, the arms had burnt holes around his forearms, bearing the memories of Coney Island.  Changing quickly, he shoved open the window of his room.

 

FRIDAY’s alarmed voice came into the room, “Peter, I am under the impression that you are under firm restrictions that you are serving house arrest.”

 

“So was Uncle Clint, lotta good that did him, right?”  He wheezed out a quip.

 

“If you don’t stay in your room I will alert the boss.”

 

Peter groaned and pulled out his phone.  A long time ago when he first moved into the compound, he made a program with Ned that let him override protocol.  He never used it because he knew that his dad was just trying to look out for him and keep him safe.

 

“Pe-”  He clicked the all systems shutdown button.  

 

It only lasts for about thirty minutes, so Peter swung out the window, not bothering to close it behind him.

 

~

 

“Hey Tony, is Peter alright?”  Sam was watching the whole Steve and Bucky ordeal from the couch.  The two dunces didn’t do anything except shrug and agree that teenage boys need their privacy.  He didn’t think much of it until the kid still hadn’t shown his face again.

 

“Hmm?”  Tony was being backed into a corner by Natasha, who was threatening him about something.

 

“The kid just up and ran to his room, he confused the hell out of Dumb and Dumber.”

 

“See?  What did I tell you?”  The spy put down her knife, “you scared him off.”

 

“I didn’t scare him off, if he left, then FRIDAY would’ve told me.  In fact, let’s check on the spiderling.” The air of confidence never seemed to leave

 

The three walked into the living room and Tony called out to his AI.

 

“FRIDAY, has Peter left grounds?”  The inhabitants of the room looked up expectantly, as if FRIDAY was clinging to the ceiling.

 

Silence.

 

Tony frowned, “FRIDAY?”  He swore under his breath and took out his tablet, pulling up the software, “What the hell?”  He started working on it frantically.

 

“What’s going on?”  Rhodey asked.

 

“Shit!  He hacked the mainframe!”  Tony threw the tablet onto the couch, narrowly missing Vision and Wanda.

 

“What?!”  Steve jumped up, “where is he?”

 

“Well if I knew would I be standing here freaking out?”  Tony rubbed his face. Guilt and frustration seemed to lace itself into his eyes so when he opened them again his sight was blurry.

 

“We have to look for him, he couldn’t have gone far.”  At that moment, everyone could hear whirs as FRIDAY started up again.

 

“Sir, Peter has left the building.”

 

“No shit, how long has he been gone?”

 

“He performed a full override approximately thirty minutes ago.”

 

“Damn.”  Scott said under his breath.

 

“He’s a smart kid, too smart for his own good.  FRIDAY, in which direction was he going?”

 

“I’m afraid that I was not able to retain any information about his whereabouts.”

 

“Ugh!  And he doesn’t have a tracker with him because I took his suit again.  We’re gonna have to split up to find him.”

 

“This wouldn't have happened if you had been softer on him, Tony!”  Natasha said, frustrated.

 

Sam groaned, “Is this really the best time for arguing?”

 

Tony ignored him, “I gave him a chance, Nat.  I gave him time to talk, I opened up myself, and he chose to be disrespectful, I feel like that was fair.”

 

“He’s a fucking kid, Stark.  Not to mention that he lost all of his family at different points of his life, he's got pent up anger.”

 

“You’re so lucky Thor isn't here right now he’d kick your ass so hard you wouldn't be able to sit down for a week.”

 

“Forget Thor, if Pepper was here-”

 

“No, Bruce, he loves the kid-”

 

“Jesus!”

 

“Shut up!”  Everyone whirled around to see Wanda glaring, “You're all wasting time arguing, let's find Peter already!”

 

The heated conversation dissipated, leaving the Avengers shuffling in unease.  They unconsciously split up into the infamous Team Cap and Team Iron Man, out of habit of course, and set off.

 

~

 

Peter was back at their apartment.  It wasn't sold yet and when he moved out after getting adopted by Tony, he conveniently left the window unlocked for days like these.  He peeled off his mask and goggles, shoving them into his hoodie pocket.

 

His parents died in a car crash.  His uncle died in his arms. His aunt was one of the victims of the last battle with Thanos, surviving the snap but not what apocalypses seem to do to people's brains.  Someone had broken into their small Queens home and killed her for supplies, ransacking the apartment.

 

There was still shattered glass on the floor.  It's been months since he's been back. It’s mostly empty, save for some overlooked items in the move.  He went to his old room, seeing nothing, then to May’s. He sat in the center of the bare bedroom, thinking.

 

There’s injustice in the world.  It’s like a weed in a garden, no matter how many times you strike it down, you uproot the cause of destruction, it comes back.  As a superhero, his job is to save the garden. To get his hands dirty and make the area clean for a small amount of time. It never ends.

 

He took a deep breath, the smell of abandonment was apparent but he hoped in vain that the lingering scent he used his heightened senses to detect was May’s perfume.

 

 _In.  Out._   _In_ . _Out._

 

He didn't know what triggered him to come back.  He heard Tony and Natasha talking about the snap.  What temporarily brought him to death's door. He couldn't remember what it was like in the stone, but the process of fading away was enough to traumatize him.  After he came back, thanks to the Avengers team he was now officially part of, he learned that he was the only one who felt the pain. To others, it was like floating away.  To him, it was like being ripped apart, particle by particle, atom by atom. He never spoke of it out loud out of fear, but he knew before he turned to ash, it was the end.

 

Maybe it would have been better if he died?

 

He mentally slapped himself for the thought.  May wouldn't want him to be self pitying like this.  

 

Peter knew that he overreacted.  It was his fault, he knew that what he was saying was wrong, but he needed someone to blame.  He was broken. A fucking mess. He shouldn't have let his emotions explode like that, hell, he shouldn't have bottle them up in the first place.

 

He needed to apologize to Tony.  He felt the shame of his toddler-like actions now that he sat there alone.  

 

_In, hold for five seconds._

 

Before he could sit up, he heard the door to the apartment open.  It had a distinct noise that he was used to hearing everyday before he moved on from May.  It creaked on the rusted hinges, sounding like a mouse getting slowly stepped on.

 

“Peter?”  His initial thought of his dad walking in was gone when he realized it was, out of all people, Bucky.

 

He wiped the tears away, but they tainted his face with an onslaught of more.  Bucky peeked his head in, sighing in relief.

 

“Found him, guys.”  He breathed into the presumed earpiece.  He flinched and Peter could hear multiple people talking at once, so he muted it.

 

Bucky has his hair tied back in a low ponytail, dressed in a black hoodie and jeans; entirely too casual for an ex-assassin and current super soldier.  He even had Ray-Bans.

 

He walked over to the teen, who was sitting smack dab in the center of the room.  Bucky helped Peter clear out the apartment after the adoption, and he vaguely remembered it as his late aunt's room.

 

Peter expected his uncle to yank him up and kick him so hard he would launch all the way back to the compound.  Instead, the towering man just lightly sat himself beside him.

 

Peter realized that if there's an earpiece that means everyone is (or was) looking for him, “I-I’m sorry Uncle Bucky, I-I didn't mean for everyone to look for me, I-”

 

The soldier just gently held up his vibranium hand.  Peter shut up.

 

“You made us really worried, Pete.”

 

He looked down, “I know.”

 

“What made you decide to run out like that?”

 

“I… I'm used to running away when things get overwhelming.”  

 

Bucky nodded, “When I was your age I was the same way.  You know what I realized?”

 

Peter hummed, looking at him expectantly.  His uncle smiled and met his eyes, “Life goes on, and it’s up to us to make it the way we want it.  You know Steve wasn't always big and tough? He had to learn that lesson too.”

 

Peter bit the inside of his cheek, “It's hard.”

 

“I know, bud.  No one’s rushing you.”

 

He gave the teen a side hug, which was gratefully returned.

 

“I've got a deal, wanna know?”

 

Peter nodded, standing up with Bucky.

 

“I'll let you ride the bike back, as long as you a) don't tell anyone, and b) apologize to your dad once we get back.”

 

Peter grinned and hopped around excitedly.  “Yes! Yes! I'll do that.”

 

“Well then, let's get on with it.”

 

~

 

The moment the pair stepped out of the elevator, they were met with everyone collectively sighing in relief.

 

“Hi.”  Peter pathetically offered.

 

Half of the Avengers opened their mouth to say something but stopped once the teen broke down in tears.

 

“I-I’m so sorry, I-I don't know why I j-just…”  he shuddered and tried to compose himself, “I-I'm sorry for acting like a brat.”

 

Tony had crossed the room the moment he saw the elevator opening, and he took the sobbing Peter in his arms.

 

“It’s okay, It's okay.”  He mumbled into his adoptive son’s curls.

 

Peter stumbled out an apology, explaining that he was sorry, sorry, sorry.  He takes responsibility for his actions, and apologized to everyone for causing them to look for him.

 

Tony rubbed his back reassuringly, reminding him that it wasn't entirely his fault, but he took the blame too.

 

“I'm sorry, dad.”  Peter said after everything.  They moved him to sit beside Clint and Natasha, Tony squatting uncomfortably in front of him.  (But he wouldn't say anything.)

 

“It's alright, you're learning.  I'm sorry too. Just try to avoid hacking FRIDAY, it makes me feel inferior knowing you did that right under my nose.  God, kid! You're too smart.”

 

Peter gave a sniffly chuckle.

 

“I have an idea,” Scott said, “hot chocolate always makes my little girl feel better.  How ‘bout it? For everyone?”

 

“As long as I get the most whipped cream”  Peter said.

 

The team cheered, getting up to parade into the kitchen.

 

They all filed into the kitchen, grabbing their favorite mugs.  Tony hung back, a ghost of a smile on his lips. He never thought he would have kids, much less be good at parenting one.  But as he watched his geeky superhero teen have cocoa powder explode onto his face while his aunts and uncles laughed at him, he knew that this, is family.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you all enjoyed !  
> once again, i won't post everyday (ik i posted like three times today but lmao got a little excited)  
> school will b busy and i will try my hardest to have stuff on here for u guys to read !
> 
> (note: i do understand that tony was not doing anything wrong as a parent and that natasha was overreacting ! i just feel that regarding her background she feels that peter's free reign is threatened, even if the punishment is just ! i love tony with all my heart , in my interpretation, natasha doesn't understand that tony is just trying to discipline him !)


End file.
